What is a KPI and Why You Need Them

Good marketing requires a thoughtful strategy, impactful messaging, and crisp delivery. With so much effort going into well-executed marketing tactics, it’s important to be able to track their efficacy and return on investment (ROI). Event-based

Knowing what a KPI is and which ones to track can be a bit confusing. It’s best to consider the goals and priorities of your marketing and develop your KPIs from there. For example, if your marketing is designed to bring in more leads a recommended KPI would be cost per lead – the amount you spend on marketing efforts to bring in one lead.

Another example of a relevant marketing KPI is a marketing qualified lead (MQL). These are leads that are received via forms, websites, or another interaction that has been initiated by a marketing tactic and then delivered to the sales team for follow-up. MQLs are a great way to track your marketing to the sales process and pipeline, while also having direct insight into the marketing and opportunities funnel.

KPIs come in many forms like the two mentioned above, and include other metrics like:

· Retention versus churn rate

· Website traffic

· Email click-through rates

· Net promoter scores (NPS)

· Event based leads

· Learn more about how to measure your performance here

If marketing KPIs are seemingly endless, you might wonder why it’s important to have them. At the heart of it, KPIs aid in diagnosing the health and strength of your sales process, your brand, and your position in the market (not just your marketing).

They allow a marketing team to see what is working, how it’s working, and when they should consider a shift in strategy. If you are not measuring any of these metrics, you’re essentially flying blind and hoping that whatever you’re doing will work. That’s not exactly smart business.

Tracking and reviewing these metrics with your broader team also allows for improved collaboration between departments – especially marketing and sales. If sales goals begin to slip, you can reference the KPIs to see if marketing is playing a role or perhaps something larger (like the economy) is at play. It could also mean that the needs of your target audience are not being met or perhaps competition in your space is really heating up. KPIs assist in the investigation of all of those things, which is why they are so important to track.

At the end of the day, KPIs are there to show you how well your marketing is performing. Trends are always evolving, dying and being born. If you’re not keeping up with your own performance, you’ll struggle to match your competition.